Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'Shungas 2019'.
Found 40 results
-
Mandarin, carnation, and clove bud. Fresh from the mail, no time to settle -- but I was already getting ready to review other BPAL when this arrived. I couldn't wait; I let it cut in line. Will definitely update after it's had time to get used to its new home. Edit 3/3/19 -- Text in blue is my review now that the scent has had time to settle. In the bottle: Mandarin and clove. It's beautiful spicy orange (the scent, not necessarily the color). Mostly mandarin in the bottle. The clove is detectable, but it's not as much as I remember there being a week ago. On my skin: Wet, it's largely mandarin with a touch of clove. It almost has an orange candy -- the old-fashioned stick candies -- quality to it. (The oil color, by the way, is clear or nearly so.) Yup. Still has that mandarin-dominant, orange spice candy thing going on. The initial drydown is much the same, though the clove has some impressive throw on it -- but since it's just a grace note on the blend for the moment, it's not overpowering. I don't get any detectable carnation as of yet -- though I can't tell if that's still yet to develop on my skin, if it's being overshadowed by the clove, if it's due to the freshness of the oil, or some combination of factors. I'd tell you that settled, the initial drydown is even more mandarin on me. The clove hasn't really started to assert itself yet. (And no, still no carnation.) Given another twenty or so minutes to develop on my skin, and the carnation does make a subtle appearance. It's a supporting note, toning down the super brightness of the mandarin and adding a more delicate nuance of spiciness to the clove. I want to say it's starting to add some sophistication to the blend. (I say "starting to" because it's still very much a background player at this stage, but I can see that as its role as the blend unfolds.) Aaand this is where Twelve Tastes in the Classification of Passion leaves off on me, at least for the time being. Luper and Shunga and evocative title notwithstanding, this is a warm, cheerful, inviting blend on me. The mandarin is bright, the clove warm and happily spicy, and the carnation works to add some unity and balance to the blend. The scent itself would be at home in a variety of venues, including for work or everyday wear (at least as it manifests on me). At this point, a couple of hours after the initial application (which is mandarin and clove on me), the carnation comes out, and it is elegant and sexy as hell. It does take a while to get there on me, but the cheerful warmth of the mandarin and clove is also pretty great, so I can't complain. The throw is on the stronger side of average on me, and we'll see about the wear length -- Mandarin disappears on me notoriously quickly, but clove and carnation can hang around forever... If this perfume were a Luper Goat, it would be a social butterfly Luper Goat with excellent people manners. I can imagine it making the rounds in any given room, nuzzling up to people as a way to ask for treats and pets (which I suppose is a nicer way of saying food and attention). While Twelve Tastes (the Goat!) might push her head underneath someone's unsuspecting hand and while you of course want to be mindful of your fingers when proffering any treat, this is not a goat that's going to knock someone over or chomp any hands off. She has manners -- but also Charm and Game, as well as the confidence to rely upon them.
-
Fig milk, honeyed vanilla, black tea, and hay absolute. Passionate meetings with impactful boons. Wet: Smooth fig and vanilla spring forth in this scent. Like something you can just slip into without pause. The black tea gives this a sort of bitter tranquility that is hard to not savor. There is a sensation of sinking in the black tea while fig laced vanilla is poured into the cup. The throw is wide and of delightful quality. Dry: The hay absolute makes this become sweeter than before. It doesn’t take on a different sweet quality but rather the fig’s sweetness becomes amplified a bit more. This is where the black tea becomes important. The black tea prevents this effect from becoming too overwhelming in the given notes. The vanilla takes a slight back step while everything else is rounded out. The throw remains consistent in this from the wet stage. Final thoughts: So creamy, lush, and savory. I find myself enjoying the sensation of being wrapped up in this fragrance. This is my first journey into fig scents and this will ensure it will not be my last. I do not find this to be a foodie scent in the slightest. It’s just a well rounded and intoxicating fragrance. I feel like I will run out of this too soon for how often I am tempted to wear it. Yeah. I think I’ll just order another bottle while it’s still available. Update:: After several hours of wear I’m left with a light honey scent with fig. The almond and black tea is barely looming in the background. It’s like a nice cool down or reprieve at the end of the day. This really is a good scent with a lot of throw.
-
Amber cream, white tea, lemon peel, and lotus root. In The Bottle: Lemon, cream and a touch of lotus. Wet On Skin: A bit of the white tea is coming round now, making this smell like a tea party with lemon cake! Dry Down: Tea leans a bit toward the lemony side of things anyway on me, and this scent therefore has both a "high" and "low" lemon note in that the low is more of a foodie, lemon curd variety and the high is that clean, bright lemony tea. It's a lovely combination. The amber cream seems to be way more cream than amber, which is not a bad thing, though I'm curious to see how it'll age. The lotus can be a bit iffy on me, and I was worried it would turn soapy but so far it's behaving itself, if juuuuust barely In all, I think this will be a fine scent as we move out of late winter and into spring. It's a very bright and sunny daytime scent and if you're a gourmand fan, you should definitely give this a try.
-
Patchouli and green apple with pink pepper, matcha tea, blackcurrant, lemon peel, and cacao. I bought this out of sheer curiosity. I was like wtf is that gonna smell like. So many things going on. 2.5/5 for me, but based personal opinion. Wet: Kinda gross to be honest. Very strong witch hazel smell. Dry: Matcha and Cacao come out. I don't get any Green Apple. No Lemon Peel or Blackcurrant. And maybe a little bit of Pink Pepper but not spicy. 1 hour dry down: A light white musk. Not much there. Dies very quickly on me. 2 hour: Spicy matcha Pink pepper. I was sitting at my computer smelling some then realized it was the bpal. ~Daddy
-
Red musk and sweet golden amber with red agarwood, leather, labdanum, black tea, orris, and lavender. Wow! Well, this is definitely very, very leather-forward. It's the cool leather note, and when first spritzed, I swear it's almost a sprayable harness, hah hah! In all seriousness, there's a hint of the lavender present when you're smelling the top of the sprayer. When dispersed into the air, yes, leather is very apparent, but behind it is a very well blended warmth, although it's a bit of a stand-offish warmth, if that makes sense. The amber, musk and labdanum give a bit of support, but in no means do I get resinous from this at all. It's very sensuous, but also callous, in only the best way.
-
Terebinth resin, jasmine absolute, and snow magnolia. Magnolia, jasmine, and a whiff of pine resin. Okay, hold up. This is the first time a magnolia and jasmine blend didn't just HULK OUT into some horrible monster of a blend and death match my nose into submission by smelling of wet wool and cat pee. This smells like creamy magnolias (yes, I know what they smell like, my MIL has a magnolia tree in her backyard), whiffs of delicate jasmine bloom, and underneath this pine resin. It's more of a skin scent, I'd say medium throw and wear length. But hell and damnation, first magnolia-jasmine blend not to turn into a monster. BRAVO.
-
Pink grapefruit, yuzu, pink pepper, ambergris, and seafoam. Not sure how I feel about this one. It's grapefruit and ambergris with a bit of something briney in the background. I'm grateful that the seafoam didn't go in the direction most aquatic notes go, meaning it usually smells like rot/decay on my skin. The seafoam note actually smelled like distant sea water. I didn't detect any pink pepper which is disappointing because I feel the pink pepper would've kicked the scent up a notch. I think I need to retest after a little while and see if the pink pepper comes out and how it changes the scent. Right now the scent is nice but a bit dull.
-
Silken red musk, black leather accord, patchouli, Malaysian oudh, cardamom, and vetiver. Clean black leather, musk, touches of oudh. This one has a very clean woody smell laced throughout, and on the drydown I get a shot of cardamom. It's a very refined black leather. Medium throw and wear length.
-
White sandalwood, champaca, snow mint, and thyme. This blend started mostly as a curiosity for me, and it turned out enticing and pretty. In the bottle I smelled mostly the snow mint, with hints of other things. But on my skin, this turned into a finely balanced fragrance. I could pick out the four listed notes. Snow mint and thyme were perhaps a little stronger, and then sandalwood, and champaca being the most blended in. But the balance of notes really just made something new and pretty on me that was its own. The blend lasted 2 - 3 hours, which for me is just a little longer than normal. It didn't change much on me during its life.
-
Peach blossoms and cherry blossoms with vanilla husk, peonies, and orris root. Lovely, elegant spring floral. It’s cherry blossom + orris dominant. It’s similar to I Suppose You are a Princess, but is drier and less creamy. The vanilla husk and orris are probably lending the dryness. This is really beautiful. Edit it to add that on second sniff it’s equal parts cherry blossom + peach blossom + orris.
-
Leather, black incense, cypress, tree moss, and patchouli. Black leather, cool cypress wood, and a whiff of incense. This one is like a refined DeSade. It's cool, slightly piney, black leather. Medium throw and wear length. I find most black leather scents to be somewhat chemically and in your face. This one is much more subdued, but probably more potent because its got such a leashed intensity. This is the magic of a dominant eye tracking your movements, in a way that doesn't make you feel unsafe but you are being noticed and watched.
-
Ginger lily, bergamot, white tea, lily of the valley, osmanthus, and melon blossom. At first this was a lovely, fresh lily scent with a dab of tea. Once it dried down it turned to soap. A nice floral soap but still...soap. Disappointing since I really loved the beginning stage.
-
Amber, tangerine, and orange blossom with tobacco, almond blossom, and golden patchouli. This one reminds me of the Phallus Festival atmo, except it’s a lot less foodie, sweet, and cloying. It’s almond blossom heavy. It smells like a honeyed almond + orange blossom cookie. It’s really nice!
-
Soft brown musk, black peppercorn, tobacco absolute, hiba wood, and cognac. Furry tobacco and cognac musk. I get hints of the peppercorn and wood. Honestly, this reminds me to Tanuki no Kanban, in the sense that its "furry tobacco nuts". You know, if nuts smoked classy tobacco and drank cognac. I think I just described the yuppie Wall Street Financiers. Great throw and wear length. Because, you know, nuts are loud.
-
Green tea, white oudh, cedar, green mandarin, frankincense, bois de rose, and honey. I get mainly green tea, mandarin, frankincense with a touch of honeyed rose. It's actually a beautiful, refined tea blend. It's more of a skin scent than anything, but gorgeous. And hey, oudh isn't a huge monster for me on this.
-
Golden amber and lotus blossom, cherry blossom and white teak, mallow root and wildflower honey. Marshmallow, honey, touches of cherry blossom and amber. This one is a grown up sexy marshmallow smell. It's sweet, seductive, and naughty. Medium throw and wear length.
-
Golden amber, apple-crushed oudh, blackened apricot, sweet musk, saffron, neroli, and gilded leather. Apple oudh and neroli on wet, and then I get the oudh, apricot, musk on a leather background. Monster throw while on wet thanks to the apple oudh. Oudh is not my friend.
-
Green almond, orange blossom, white sage, and a sharp slash of eucalyptus. This post is merely a placeholder for future reviews. Whoever is first to review, please report this post using the report button below, so a mod can merge it with yours. Thanks!
-
White cedar, tomato leaf, clary sage, woodmoss, sweet labdanum, clove husk, and leather. Dark, masculine, woody! I get clove and leather, and a bit of cedar. The cedar is really nice—it’s like the scent of a nice cedar hope chest (as opposed to the dreaded hamster cage scent).
-
Tonka bean, vetiver, black currant, black tea, and clove. Black tea, currants, clove, and whiffs of tonka. This smells like a black tea and cookies sort of blend (I blame the cookies on the currants, clove, and warmth of the tonka). It's definitely an 'eastern' vibe to it. So elegant tea house in Japan sort of black tea. Good throw and wear length.
-
Red tea, saffron, soft brown leather, patchouli, and white ginger blossom. Whooooa this one took me by surprise! It’s so nice! Kinda hard to pin down, but it’s bright and fresh and zingy. I love this and can’t stop sniffing. Ok, it’s like an iced beverage—there’s tea and I think maybe the red part is currant, because something smells like that upscale currant scent that was so popular a few years back. The ginger blossom is a gorgeous addition. I don’t really get any of the leather or patch. Winner winner chicken dinner!
-
White and golden amber, peach juice, green cardamom, vanilla cream, frankincense, yellow sandalwood, golden patchouli, and mandarin. This one is a playful and unusual scent! It’s like peach nectar and green cardamom (definitely green and fresh, not dried) ice cream in a fragrant wooden bowl. There’s lots of peach juice here. I love the cute kitty on the label!!
-
Ink, white moss, and rose petals. In the bottle Dark, deep moss with something darkly floral. But mostly moss. And definitely an ink note. Wet on skin True to my skin chemistry's form, I get a luscious, red rose note as soon as this touches my skin. But it works beautifully with the moss and inky darkness. This is not a dark scent, per se. It's lovely. Dry on skin after 30 minutes The rose fades a little bit into the background and this smells a lot more like the ink and moss. Not woody, really, but more green and almost like very fine paper and ink with flower petals and greenery. It has a nice throw, and the overall scent has not faded. Thoughts This makes me think of a fancy lady writing a letter with a fountain pen, expensive ink, and expensive paper, then spritzing her finest perfume on everything before sealing the envelope. Unexpected and beautiful. Really glad I went for a full bottle.
-
Mahogany polished with burgundy musk, rosewood, jasmine absolute, and Spanish moss. Gorgeous! Jasmine (it would be purple!), dark moss, dark polished wood, and musk. Fancy, and sexy. I bet a lot of people who typically don’t like jasmine or red musk would love this. I’m in the latter camp, and I think it’s gorgeous.
-
White musk, lemon peel, and ambrette seed. I loooove this one!! Lemon candy!! Happy, bright, tart, fresh, with a hint of sugar. I’m excited, because lemon perfume doesn’t work on my skin, but it will be perfect in my hair! 😍😍
